


Winter Leaves - An apprentice/Julian Devorak story collection

by SyrenScales



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: F/M, Female Apprentice (The Arcana), Multi, Named Apprentice (The Arcana), fanapprentice
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-27
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:14:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,192
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28286052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SyrenScales/pseuds/SyrenScales
Summary: Julian has become one of my few ever comfort characters, and I relate to him a lot, as well as ship my fan-apprentice with him. this book is just a collection of small little stories I come up with, in no particular order. This may eventually contain mature themes such as smut, or emotionally heavy angst, etc. Said chapters will have warnings.I have poor retention so some details may be incorrect, but I'll try to keep them accurate as I reread the routes.
Relationships: Apprentice/Julian Devorak
Kudos: 3





	1. Starlit Nights

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: Some things I'll have to take some liberty with, such as weather. This chapter mentions snowfall, even though Vesuvia is set in a Mediterranean climate. Few places there experience snow, and I headcanon Vesuvia would be one of those places that gets snow, albeit very little that doesn't last long. if the devs have comfirmed whether it snows or not in Vesuvia though, let me know!

# Starlit Nights

  
  


It had been quiet; too quiet. Julian had been sitting in the clinic for some time now, despite it and the shop having closed hours prior. Even with the lack of people, there was an absence of background noise. Typically, Morgan would be up by his side, also suffering from the ever so present affliction referred to as insomnia. It was habit of hers to ramble into his ear, either ridiculous jokes, complaints of rude customers, or sweet nothings late in the evening, though this night that welcomed noise was absent. Julian remembered it _had_ been there not long ago. Morgan said she'd only be a moment, but it had been much longer, and he grew curious. His long legs creaked with the wooden chair as he rose, knees and back aching from his improper sitting posture as he had slumped over the desk for hours previous. He began to search around both the clinic and the shop, careful not to disturb the many pets his lover had. With a sigh, he made it back to the front counter with no sign of the woman. Though, their two ravens nesting together on one of the rafters above him caught his eye. He smiled and carefully reached up to stroke each bird's beak, careful not to startle the blind, blue eyed youngster, Poet. However, a different, very awake bird demanded his attention. At the sight of the peppered snow owl, Julian knew dawn was approaching soon.

"Demi, where's Morgan?" The bird slowly blinked her golden eyes, shaking out her feathers before returning out the window, cooing from the roof shortly after. His classic smirk came across his face as he ran up to the roof, slowing down upstairs as to not disturb any slumbering creatures. Pulling himself onto the peak of the slanted surface, he saw the brunette up ahead, perched upon one of the dormers overlooking the city. As he got closer, he could see her eyes cast out towards the east docks, the sea just on the horizon, the owl just flying off of her shoulder. 

"I thought you said you were coming back?" He spoke softly, noticing how her brow was furrowed and jaw stiff as he sat behind her, leaning over her shoulder to get a look at her face.

"I didn't think you'd notice. Sorry." She didn't take her eyes off of the dark horizon, the sun not yet peeking over.

"Of course I'd notice." There was a pause, the chilled air carrying the soft flakes of the season's first delicate snow. Morgan was quiet, looking down at the tiled surface she sat upon. Swallowing hard, she tilted her head to the sky, eyes closed. Her pale skin was flushed red from the bite of the air, he could see the contrast in the starlight.

"I, ah," eyes opening to look at the stars above, the doctor could see they were glazed with unshed tears. "I got a letter, the other day. From my mother." Her eyes closed once more, pain more evident on her features. Julian knew Morgan had a strained relationship with most of her family, the only one who wasn't borderline estranged from her being her father. His thoughts moved to the slightly worn paper she pulled from her belt, unfolding it. As rough fingers gripped the sheet, the edges crinkled, and Julian could feel his love shaking, shoulders tensed. He put his ungloved hands over hers. They felt like ice to his own cold hands. He didn't dare try to take the letter out of her hands, instead, he cupped hers, keeping them steady enough to read the words he knew she had likely gone over many, many times.

"She wants you to see her? She wants to meet me?" He didn't understand; the woman hadn't spoken to Morgan in at least a few years, and made little to no efforts to contact her, either, yet she now felt entitled to demand that Morgan present her partner to her? She even mentioned wanting to 'make sure he's not some lowlife'. He scowled with a huff, "She has nerve, doesn't she?" Morgan scoffed and slid her hands out of his, long enough to pinch and twist the corner of the page, a bright blue spark twinkling away into warm flames. She leaned back against him as their faces were illuminated by the glow, watching as the paper was eventually whisked away by the wind. Julian followed the ashes up towards the sky, smiling, pulling Morgan closer against his chest.

"Isn't it beautiful?"

"Even more beautiful when you're away from the city." Morgan sighed, and the man knew she was about to fade away into one of her heartfelt tangents. "Back home, when you go to the docks and look up, you don't see a few stars, you see millions! And when you go to the Scourgelands or the Steppe, you look and you don't see millions, or billions; you don't see a sky full of stars. You see a _sea_ of stars with cracks leaking slivers of the universe into the waves of constellations." The imagery she came up with amused him often, and it warmed his heart to know the closed off magician felt comfortable enough with him to show him her heart and spirituality. "And and and, you're surrounded by the land, and the wind. it's you and nature; you and that little part of the world, all in those moments," she spread her arms then gathered them to her chest, melting into his hold, "you're one with the sky, and the beings around you. All the pain you have is gone." She trailed off and her eyes opened, still glossy. "Then you come home. You come home to misery." Julian frowned, self doubt eating away at him instantly. Misery? Was she miserable with him? Those thoughts vanished, however, when she smiled. "Miserable until I found you. Then found you again." The two shared a smirk and a chuckle, looking out to the horizon as the bruise coloured sky lightened into the fiery canvas of dawn.

"Play a game with me, lover boy."

"What would that game be, angel eyes?" He smirked when she tilted her head back to look at him.

"Get cheesier than we currently are, and describe the sky in such a way to where the staunchest poet would shed a tear, and a blind man's mind would swirl with colour." They always acted cheesy, and while it was done in irony, the sentiment behind their words were always genuine. This description game was one of their favourites.

"Well, lets see." The doctor feigned deep though, dramatic speech coming naturally to him. "The waves of the night sky calm and fade with the crack of dawn, the tide slowly receding to give way to yet another day." He played with a strand of the brunette's hair, admiring how the dyed blue mixed with the light chocolatey brown. "How was that?" A brow raised, accompanied by a smirk on his pale features, silver eyes alight.

"Not bad not bad," she pretended to ponder, "but how about this." She looked to the growing light on the horizon. "The starlit cover of winter's night sky melts as the warmth of fiery dawn bleeds between the previously disguised clouds, hiding the stars once more, just until the sky freezes over again."

"Fair attempt, though it could use some, how do I say; some more _flair_." He hadn't even finished purring out the words when the woman flipped to straddle him, fake hitting him, the knuckles of her fists barely even brushing his shirt as she made dramatic 'fwoosh' sounds. 

"I'll 'flair' you!" She playfully grumbled. The two laughed as he wrapped her in a hug, twisting to face the way he had climbed up onto the roof.

"We should get down before we fall." Morgan smirked and gripped his shirt with one fist, leaning her face into the crook of his neck.

"Awe, but what's life without some risk? What happened to the troublesome man I fell in love with?" She teased. Julian shuddered and swallowed hard, the cold disguising his blush. He opened his mouth to speak, only to be interrupted by a gruff hoot. Demi glared at the two of them, upset over them still being up here, thumping around on the roof.

"I dunno, never been into getting scolded by owls." He purred back, ushering her to climb down the roof as the owl flew down as well. Once inside, they realized just how tired they were.

"Thank the Arcana we have tomorrow off." Julian nodded in agreement as they haphazardly flopped down onto the bed, tangling themselves together.


	2. Remembering Death

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Angsty/TW: mentions the plague, death, and the death of a child

  
  


Julian hadn't been awake for when Morgan startled from her restless sleep, though he awoke upon realizing her side of the bed was becoming cold, and lacked a body. Bleary eyed, the man sat up, looking around the room, calling out the woman's name. He stood and repeated this as he walked throughout the shop, pulling on his coat and boots.

He had an idea of where to go, and by time he got to the docks the worry in his stomach had grown drastically. Something just felt _wrong_. Typically, Morgan would leave a note or just tell him she was going for a walk, but the odd time she wouldn't there was typically something wrong. The dreadful feelings only sky rocketed when, from the corner of his eye, he caught the gaze of the Lazaret in the distance. That's when he knew. She had once again been drawn back to one of the biggest scars that marred the city's flesh. Shaking off the chill that crawled its way up his spine, Julian untied a boat and headed out across the water. 

Upon hitting the shore, he knew he was in the right place, seeing fresh footprints on the ashen beach. Long strides carried him into the building in search of his lover. The aura of the place weighed on him heavily. As he continued his search it felt more and more like he was being drug to the bottom of the ocean, all of its weight on top of him. He cast his gaze out one of the shattered windows, towards the beach, knowing full well what lay buried beneath the sand. The sound of a crackling fire and rusty joints broke him from his thoughts. Following the faint noise down one of the decrepit halls, Julian found himself standing in the doorway to a room with a massive retort. The rusted doors were open wide, and the glow of a fire lit the dark room, the silhouette of a person blacked out by the light.

"Do you know what it's like to be burned alive?" Morgan's voice was dull and cold as she stood in front of the fire, arms wrapped around herself in a lone embrace. Guilt that plagued him since Morgan's death years prior bubbled to the surface, bringing him to swallow hard.

"Why are you here, my darling? What's the matter?"

"It's awful." She turned to glance back at him, not looking for too long before she resumed glaring into the flames. "As you know I've been remembering things." He didn't like where this was going. "I've been remembering what it was like during the plague a lot, recently." He stepped forward, wanting to comfort her, but something told him to stay put.

"Morgan, why didn't you tell me sooner?" Only a sniffle came from her for a long pause. 

"I didn't know how I was going to tell you how I remember letting myself be burnt alive while holding a dead child in my arms." She sighed and looked down. "She was six years old. She clung to me. I don't know why, but she did. We talked all day, all night, whenever we had the energy. I held her when her mother died. I held her when she..." The woman stopped talking, and Julian finally felt it the right time to step forward and embrace her from behind, holding her tightly. "She knew. I knew. She told me she didn't want to die. She wanted to travel the world like I had. She wanted to be a doctor; she wanted to help people. She didn't want me to leave her. So I didn't, not even when it was time to dispose of the body. I was going to die anyways, so I thought the last thing I'd do was keep the promise I had made her." She finally let herself cry, silently sobbing. Julian turned her around to hug her properly, the fire dying as soon as she had her back to it.

"I'm sorry." He buried his face into her hair. "Do you... do you remember her name?"

"Azalea."

They stood there in silence for sometime, before eventually heading back to the boat. Before getting on, Morgan turned around and looked back at the foreboding building. She shed a few more tears before climbing in after the doctor. 

"She's at peace now, with her mother. I just wanted to see her again."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the devs have left many things up in the air in regards to the apprentice on purpose, wanting to give people as much freedom as possible when making their own apprentices. This includes whether or not the apprentice ever regains their memories from before. For my apprentice, she's slowly trying to regain hers. It's also not 100% confirmed whether the apprentice was already dead of the plague when they were cremated or if they were burnt alive. It's stated that dead bodies would be cremated, but the apprentice also feels fire whenever they touch the furnace doors, hinting that they could've been burnt alive.


End file.
